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Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat (Genesis 2:8-9 MSG).

Then the Angel showed me Water-of-Life River, crystal bright. It flowed from the Throne of God and the Lamb, right down the middle of the street. The Tree of Life was planted on each side of the River, producing twelve kinds of fruit, a ripe fruit each month. The leaves of the Tree are for healing the nations. Never again will anything be cursed. The Throne of God and of the Lamb is at the center. His servants will offer God service\u2026 (Revelation 22:1-3 MSG).

First, let me apologize for the lateness of Tuesday\u2019s edition of Wilderness Wanderings. An official report would say, \u2018human error.\u2019 I clicked on the wrong icon when publishing the file and thus it wasn\u2019t sent out.

In that edition, I mentioned that my Dad was born on April 13, 1937. He did make it to his 84th birthday. He died late in the afternoon, as many of you will know by now. As I spent time with my mom and siblings around his body, I got thinking about our texts for today and want to share some of my reflections with you.

I had noticed over the past several months that I had been feeling a mild but persistent sorrow in my heart. That are numerous reasons for this sorrow and I knew that one of them was because of my dad\u2019s illness. It seemed to me that it was more about his illness than him impending death.

Dr. Neal Plantinga wrote a book about sin titled, Not the Way It\u2019s Supposed to Be. As the cancer leeched away my father\u2019s physicality, I have seen just how apt Neal\u2019s title is. Our text tells us that when God created humanity, we were created to live physically on this earth. God made a garden that was both beautiful and useful. The human eye and the human stomach would both enjoy this garden.

My dad\u2019s legs were the first to go. Last May, I planted his vegetable garden. He was able to enjoy some of its produce even though he had been unable to contribute any physical care to the plants. First, his mobility was taken away, then he gradually lost his interest in food, towards the end, his stomach rejected most offerings. In the end, his eyesight dimmed. It seemed to me it was Eden undone. That is the effect of the human fall into sin. It is right that we grieve it.

But thankfully, that is not the end of the story. The Bible has an ending that we are still waiting for. By faith, we eagerly wait for its coming. Notice that the ending also includes trees, or a tree, The Tree. How do we picture a tree that is planted on both sides of the River? Yet, the purpose of this tree is poignant and clear. It is there for both food and healing. The effects of the human fall into sin are undone. Its Eden 2.0. The visions of Revelation offer us images not just of a return to Paradise, but a Paradise that is even better. In Genesis, God comes to visit his humans in the cool of the day (3:8), but in Revelation he lives with them.

On the great day of resurrection, my dad\u2019s body will be raised and reunited with his soul. His physicality will be fully restored and more. It will be glorified, as Jesus\u2019 resurrected body was. In the meantime, it seems to me, he is with the great host in Revelation 7 singing songs of salvation before the throne of God. If you wonder about the phrase, \u2018these are those who have come out of the great tribulation\u2019 (7:14), then I refer you to Pastor Anthony\u2019s recent sermon on Matthew 24 (March 7 podcast).

I will miss my dad. There is a different sorrow now. Dad is with our Lord and Saviour and I can say that that is good. I also look forward to the day of resurrection when we will all be fully physical. Then our service to God will no longer be tainted by our fallenness. We will all serve him perfectly.